Facilities and Activities

Picnicking/Shelters
Honey Creek is a great place for picnics and larger gatherings. Open Picnic Shelters are located at scenic points overlooking the lake and may be reserved online through the park reservation system.

Camping
Honey Creek is a favorite camping destination. There are a myriad modern campsites with showers, rest rooms and a trailer dump station. Some of the sites have full recreation vehicle hookups (sewer, water, electricity), and most are equipped with electricity only. Electricity is available year-round in the campground and the shower building is heated in the winter. The full hookups, however, are closed during the winter. Advance campsite reservations can be booked through the park reservation system. One fourth of the campsites are still available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Cabins
The rustic pine log camper cabins offer visitors a sense of pioneer lifestyle. The cabins have electricity, a covered porch and basic furnishings. Visitors must provide their own bedding, towels, cooking utensils and other camping items. Cabins are located near the campgrounds so cabin users will have use of the shower and toilet facilities. The cabins can be reserved online through the park reservation system.

Trails
Hikers enjoy the miles of multi-use trails and the Woodland Interpretive Trail. By following the interpretive trail one may learn about the early Indians who inhabited the area. Displays on the history of Honey Creek are located in a special shelter at the beginning of the interpretive trail.

Lake Activities (boating, fishing)
Rathbun Lake is very popular with sailboaters, power boaters, water skiers and anglers. Crappie, walleye and channel catfish are available to challenge anglers. The park has excellent boat launching ramps and conveniently located fish cleaning facilities.

Visitors to Honey Creek State Park return often to enjoy the beautiful setting of 828 acres of rolling, timbered hills against a background of beautiful Lake Rathbun, Iowa's largest lake. In 1954, Congress authorized the construction of Rathbun Lake because the Chariton River Valley in south central Iowa was susceptible to flood and drought problems. The dam was completed in 1969 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Rathbun Lake provides flood protection for 149,300 acres of land along the Chariton River.

The Corps manages 55 square miles of land and water at Rathbun Lake. Honey Creek is a part of the Rathbun Lake recreation complex consisting of 11,000 acres with eight parks, 155 miles of shoreline, two marinas and 21,000 acres of public land. In addition to Honey Creek State Park, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources manages the Rathbun Fish Hatchery and Fisheries Research Facility located below the dam.

Nearby Towns
Honey Creek is located about 12 miles from Moravia and 4 miles from Iconium. The park is approximately 24 miles from both Albia and Centerville.